Jay Leno advises Detroit on how to get Americans to buy American

“The type of vehicles America makes best are, unfortunately, not the type of vehicles that people really want anymore. Nobody builds better trucks than the Americans do. Not even the Japanese build as good a truck as the Ford F-150 or the Chevy Silverado.

Where we seem to lose it is in the low-bucks econocar. I used to be able to identify any American car from 25 yards. Now they all have this jellybean look. It’s a mystery to me, because the one thing we used to do better than anybody else was build cheap, extremely high-quality cars. We did it for decades, all the way back to the beginning of the industry.

I believe that, all things being equal, Americans will buy American. It just has to be as good as the competition; it doesn’t have to be better. The classic example is Harley-Davidson. Throughout the ’70s, the motorcycle maker had huge quality-control problems. Then Harley-Davidson said, “Look, let’s take our time. Let’s build fewer bikes. Let’s build them properly, so they don’t leak oil and they’ll run forever.” Harley-Davidson won back the market share it had lost, and it continues to dominate today.

Thankfully, in the past couple of years, they have gotten better. Cadillac has a line of small four-door sedans that are, if not quite the rival of Audi or Mercedes, pretty darn close for quite a bit less money. The problem with what’s happened over the past few decades is that you have a whole generation of kids who have no brand loyalty. They’ve grown up on Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota. To lure them to the American brand, you’ve got to give them something exciting, something bold, something different.

One last thing: No matter what happens, do not expect all American cars to go Eurosize. American buttocks are not getting any smaller.”

Let’s see, there’s….

 Tesla Motors (sports cars), Wrightspeed (sports cars and plug-in drivetrains for trucks), Fisker Automotive (electric sedans), Zap (low-speed and sports cars), Miles Automotive (low speed), Zenn Motors (low speed), AC Propulsion (retrofitting Scions for electric), Phoenix Motorcars (SUVs), Aptera (three-wheelers), Porteon (low speed electrics), Lightning (sports cars in England), Reva (economy cars), Ultramotor (electric trishaws), Myers Motors (freakish three-wheelers featured in Goldmember), Think (electric economy cars) and Venture Vehicles (three-wheeled electric cars.).

This list doesn’t even count the major car companies–GM and Nissan–committed to coming out with electric cars and plug-ins, or the people doing diesel hybrid buses. There’s also the three electric scooter and motorcycle guys: Zero Motorcycles, Vectrix and Brammo.

High Performance Comes At A Cost

“Supersport” motorcycle enthusiasts prize such high-performance machines as this Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, but a study finds that these drivers are being killed at a much greater rate than those who ride other types of bikes. An insurance industry study released Tuesday that found that motorcyclists were three times more likely to die when riding a high-performance racing bike than a hulking Harley-Davidson. So-called supersport motorcycles have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially among young riders looking for an extremely fast, lightweight bike like the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, that have top speeds in excess of 150 mph.

The Kawasaki Ninja and the Harley Electra Glide provide a vivid example of how motorcycles can differ in power and weight. According to institute figures, the 2006 Ninja generates 111 horsepower and weighs 404 pounds. The Harley produces 65 horsepower and weighs in at 788 pounds. The smallest supersports typically have 600-cubic-centimeter engines. The biggest models top 1,200 or even 1,400 cubic centimeters and can reach speeds approaching 200 mph. Riders say the Kawasaki ZX-10R can hit 110 mph in first gear.

The increase in fatality rates for a class of bike associated more with older riders shows that inexperience comes into play at both ends of the age spectrum.  More and more baby boomers are realizing their wishes and buying motorcycles, especially the big cruisers, yet have no real experience on them. The results of their inexperience, especially as their reflexes slow, are more crashes and deaths. Nationwide, motorcycle registrations climbed 51% from 2000 to 2005, according to the institute. Registrations of supersport bikes jumped 83% in that period.
 Did they really need a study to show that speed is deadly?